The SNP were furious, with a senior source telling The Sun: “Kathleen Leslie is unfit to teach kids, but the Tories think she is fit to serve the public. You have to question the thinking.”

Former history teacher Leslie tagged the then deputy first minister in a tweet back in November 2013, writing: “Wee Jimmy Krankie is a drooling hag. She’s a walking horror show.”

The Tory, who was elected to Fife Council in 2017, also described Sturgeon as a “wee fish wife” and labelled EuroMillions winners Chris and Colin Weir “uneducated fat f*****s” after they donated millions to the Yes campaign.

She also said that “only a racist supports a Nationalist ideology”.

The Tory Party said: “Councillor Leslie is working part-time as an administrative assistant.”

Leslie last hit the papers when she was appointed to Fife Council’s Special Standards and Audit Committee, to “promote and maintain high standards of conduct by councillors”.

Meanwhile, there was a swell of support for Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP, after it emerged that she had received police protection after being sent death threats.

The Edinburgh South West politician said she was targeted after questioning Twitter bosses about the lack of protection for women on the social media platform.

Cherry revealed the need for a police escort when responding to an article in the Herald on Sunday about senior SNP figures “declaring war on cybernats”.

The QC said she looked forward to the “male colleagues quoted in this article being equally condemnatory of the vile misogyny on @Twitter which has so escalated that I had to have a police escort at my constituency surgery after I called it out at @HumanRightsCtte.”

Fellow SNP MP Stewart McDonald tweeted: “This is utterly indefensible and is becoming a regular feature of the job for too many politicians and public figures. Staff members who support us, and family members, are also affected by this stuff.”

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